Monday

Hope you're lucky enough to have a strawberry patch in your backyard or maybe a neighbors or a picking field close by. When they are in season they are the best! This pie is the perfect thing to whip up, I mean that literally because it's that easy, to enjoy on a lazy summer afternoon.

This recipe only calls for 6 ingredients to make it. So simple! You probably have all of the the ingredients on hand already.

The next couple of pictures are to show you the transformation this scrumptious pie goes through from start to finish. Once everything has been incorporated & poured into a buttered pie tin it will look like this. Pecans, crackers poking up through the glossy meringe mixture.

I opened up the oven to take this quick picture. When you bake it, it will puff up into a dome shape like this. Perfectly gorgeous & round.

Take it out of the oven & let it completely cool! Just set it out & walk away.

When you return to the kitchen you'll see this. Don't panic! No one came & punched your pie crust in. This is perfectly normal in fact it's just what you want to see. It's created the perfect bowl shape, in the center, for you to pour in all your delicious cut berries. They are going to nestle right down into the sudden center, perfect!

All that's left to do now is dish it up. Call your family into the kitchen for dessert, serve it to friends & neighbors outside on the porch just enjoy! You can either top it off with whip cream, Basil Ice Cream or eat it plan. The berries & crust are just that good!

Such a sweet, easy Summertime treat. No rolling pin, flour dust everywhere & lots of clean up to make this pie. GIve it a try, I think it will become a family favorite in your home too.

Have you ever tried basil ice cream before? Are you intrigued? You might be wondering just what it tastes like. Fresh, light & flavorful, your taste buds will thank you. It is like tasting summertime in one scrumptious bite! Quite simple to make & requires just a bit of time but once that first spoonful hits your lips it's all totally worth it.

Basil Ice Cream

2 cups whole milk

1 cup basil leaves

½ cup sugar

Pinch of Salt

4 large egg yolks {save the egg whites to make the Strawberry Soda Cracker Pie}

½ cup well-chilled heavy cream

Heat milk, basil and ¼ cup sugar, with a pinch of salt, in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil stirring constantly. Once the mixture comes to a boil, remove from the heat and let steep for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, pour the mixture through a strainer to remove the basil leaves.

With a hand-held mixer, beat the yolks and remaining ¼ cup sugar in a bowl until thick and pale (about 1 minute). Add the milk mixture in a slow stream and beat until combined. Pour mixture into a clean saucepan and cook over moderate heat. Be sure to stir constantly. The mixture will begin to thicken and is ready when it coats the back of a wooden spoon – this will take around 6 minutes of stirring. Do not let the mixture come to a boil.

Remove from the heat and poor in to a small bowl. Place the bowl in a larger bowl of ice water and stir until cold, around 12 minutes. (I recommend making the ice bath before you cook the custard over the stove – the custard will cook quickly and, if you don’t cool it down immediately, you risk curdling the mixture).Stir in the cream and freeze in the ice cream maker. Once frozen, place the ice cream in an airtight container and put in the freezer to harden for at least 2 hours before serving.

Give it a try, I think you'll like it. It's one of those recipes that will intrigue your dinner guests & will have them asking for more. Fruit & herbs go so well together & since they are in season & are readily available they just beg to be paired together.

Enjoyed being on Studio 5 & sharing a favorite family recipe for Strawberry Soda Cracker Pie. Adding a scoop of Basil Ice Cream sends this dessert over the top. You can see the whole segment of me in the kitchen & get the recipe {HERE}

Thanks for stopping by, give this summertime dessert a try. I think you'll like it. Be sure to check out the post below for a coupon code to receive a 6x6 book of your Instagram photos for FREE! Such a great thing. Come back again soon. Happy Summer!

Wednesday

One of my favorite things to do is to share information about things that I love with all of you. When I come across a new product, website or enter a store that just makes me happy I want to shout it from the rooftops. So I'm very excited to tell you about a new fabulous company.

-Do you have a smart phone?

-Do you take lots of pictures with your phone?

-Are you on Instagram?

-Do you wish you knew how to get your photos off your phone & into your hands & home?

If you answered "yes" to any of those questions above this is going to make your day. The newest, latest & greatest thing to hit the app store is - Chatbooks. What it does is lets you get all of your photos out of your phone & into your hands, in book form, for all to see & enjoy. Who wouldn't love that? It is very simple to do. Anyone can download the app, click a button & have a book delivered to your mailbox in just a few days.

-Here's my Chatbooks stash. Love seeing my photos in print-

I recently signed up for the Instagram series & had my books printed & shipped for only $6 each. A great investment to have all my pictures somewhere other than just on my phone or in my computer.

Now I have 19

{I like Instagram A LOT! Lots of pictures to document}

6x6 soft covered books, color pictures with captions for every picture on my coffee table for family & guests to enjoy.

I love to see my girls snuggled up on the couch or sitting outside on the porch swing enjoying the Chatbooks.

Something satisfying about having all those memories & moments in my hands that I've captured. I look at my Instagram feed as somewhat of a journal so to have this in printed form & documented makes me happy.

What that does is gives you your first book free & then every time you take 60 pictures on Instagram a book will automatically be printed & shipped right to your mailbox. No, forgetting to order a book, no keeping all your pics just on your phone & no more excuses to have pictures printed & in your hand & in your home. In the app you can edit the pictures if there are some that you don't want included in your books. That is a nice feature.

So... what are you waiting for. Head to the App Store on your smart phone or clickon this link & get started. Sign up for the Instagram Series & be sure to enter code HONEYB to receive your 1st book FREE!

Another feature I LOVE about Chatbooksis that the Vol. number printed on the side of each book with the dates the pictures were taken. Great for keeping track of all your memories.

So excited to share this code & fantastic company with all my H&H readers. Give Chatbooksa try & bring all your memories home for your family to see.

Monday

Summer is officially here & that means that the 4th of July is right around the corner. It might just be one of my absolute favorite holidays!

Time to get the house looking a little festive with lots of red, white & blue. Come inside & take a peek of a few spots in my home. Sharing one of my favorite ways to decorate & giving you the opportunity to decorate with them too a bit later in the post.

I got this turquoise colored, heavy, metal thing while junking at Smith & Edwards with my daughter, Macey, last month. {It looks like it could have be a fan part a long ago}

I really like the look stacking round things on top of our round table. When I placed it on there I thought it would look great with lots of Old Glory's standing at attention in the center of it. Really happy with how it turned out. The focal point of our great room.

If you read this blog, you know that I am absolutely smitten with vintage glass pop bottles. I have all shapes, colors & sizes. It was fun to rummage through my shelves of bottles & picked out my favorite red, white & blue ones. They stand loud & proud on our kitchen island for all to see. They are stuffed with flowers, sparklers, wavy paper flags

Just can not get enough of these! They are fun to find, buy at estate sales, receive as gifts from sweet friends & discover on vacations & trips. Festive patriotic colors on display in this collection.

Then things got a bit crazy... I couldn't stop myself! I wondered what it would look like to place the bottles around the metal piece in the center of the living room. A bit over the top but a real show stopper for the center of the room that demands attention. A conversation piece right there.

Now for the fun & exciting news for YOU! As I was searching in my collection for bottles I discovered that I had quite the inventory & couldn't store them all anymore. I just don't have the heart to throw them away so I wanted to see if any of you out there would like to start a red, white & blue bottle collection of your own just in time for the 4th.

You can purchase these 3 festive bottles {United States of America flag included}SOLD OUT! That includes the shipping. You'll receive one vintage Diet Coke bottle, one Boylans Club soda bottle, one Cheerwine bottle & an American flag.

-They went fast, sorry! If I find more I'll post- Thanks for the interest!-

-So fun! Here they are stuffed with lots of goodies & some sparklers too. Imagine how cute that would be on a dinner table right before fireworks light up the sky-

-You can also fill them up with flowers from the yard too. Lots of uses & possibilities with these 3 beauties-

Friday

Where to begin? My head is spinning, reeling & racing. So grateful for the amazing opportunity I had to attend the Alt Summer Conference. I've felt very fortunate ever since I won a ticket & knew I wanted to just go for it & take advantage of every single second.

I wanted to share some pics with you of my fabulous 3 days in the city & then share a few favorite things, lessons & food from the Conference.

The Grand America really is the most beautiful hotel. Everytime I go there I'm just in awe of everything. Attending Alt was really a step out of my comfort zone. I was going by myself, I just knew one other person that was going, so that was really a fear to overcome. I'll be honest, I was worried about the fashion, not having anyone to hang out with all day long, being overwhelmed. Not to mention I knew that I was going to be a tiny fish in a great big sea of amazing & very well known bloggers.

All my fears, anxieties left after attending the first class. It was amazing! It put all my worries aside & I was ready to rock the conference. Tiffany & Bethany couldn't have been more perfect to teach this class. They were fabulous speakers during the class & sweet friends outside of it. Enjoyed talking & getting to know them both.

-LoTS & lots of notetaking. Old school for me, paper & blue pen-

-The perfect thing for me to hear during the 1st class. It became my motto for the entire Conference-

-True!-

-Opening Speaker, Oh, Joy. Such a great story!-

-Inspiration was everywhere! This was the cool hang out lounge.-

-Sidewalk art as we walked to dinner in the park, provided by local food trucks & Swig. Such a fun summer night in the city -

-Dinner, Yum! My first ever waffle sandwich, more about this in a bit. -

-Wanted to include this pic to show you how close I was to Martha. I really think she was looking at me the whole time.She was angled perfectly, just saying -

-Great interview & funny things said from the Queen of all Good Things. Have always loved, admired & respected her. She has truly been an inspiration to me. Grateful for what she has taught & encouraged me to try do in my life, business & home-

-The garden party, it the courtyard, was simply delightful! Lots of color & happy little surprises everywhere. My favorite just might have been the cherry stems in the flowers. The perfect summertime combo. The hanging ribbons in the trees were genius too-

Alt was a sweet ride for me from start to finish I have to say. Meeting & getting to know these ladies was a treat too.

A few of my favorite things:

-Color & inspiration everywhere

-Churros & carmel dip for an afternoon snack

-The gorgeous flowers & lounge area

-Meeting & making lots of connections & many new friends

-Realizing how many amazing local bloggers there are!

Favorite Moments: -Getting into a spur of the moment photo op. with 3 people I didn't know very well who quickly became great friends the whole conference long. {Thanks Bethany, Jessica & Mitzi} -When I would introduce myself & people would say, Oh, yes, I follow you or I wanted to make sure & meet you. So sweet! {too be honest, blew me away! Couldn't believe it when people would say that, felt like my heart was going to burst} -Educating my foodie friend {Mindy} on what a Swig Cookie was. -Dinner in the park, on a picnic bench, surrounded by all new friends -Being in the right place, at the right time to run into a friend that I think I was destined to met Favorite Words of wisdom: -Don't compare your beginning to somebody else's middle -Content is King but promotion is Queen-If your blog is a story than the branding is your cover {Meg in Progress}-Give yourself a warrior name- Susan {Freshly Picked}-Learn something new everyday -Martha Favorite Class:How to Alt Summit {Thanks Tiffany & Bethany}How to grow your small blog {Thanks, PJ, Tan, Ceira, Mariah & Melissa}

I am so glad that I stepped out of my comfort zone, did something a bit scary & hard. I can see the benefit & blessing of doing so. Many talented, creative & amazing people are now in my life & as a result I'll forever be grateful for the connections I've made. I would attend Alt again in a heartbeat, & I plan too. Loved the energy, the community & the spirit of awesomeness that was there. It has inspired me to look at my business, blog & wonder what else is out there & how to get it. Encouraged me to not be afraid of change, move forward to put into place things that up until now I've only envisioned.

Thanks Alt for the connections, education, friends, inspiration & memories you have given me.

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About Me

Thanks to my name meaning Honeybee in Greek & my love for flowers, Hollyhocks & Honeybees {my business} got it's name. I have a charming little studio in my house to create in {blessed} Married to one great guy & Mom to 3 amazing girls.